Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Abortion Rights?

Abortion is a topic that either you agree with, or you don't. Since anti-abortionists know they will not reach their goal of an outright ban, they are now trying to get legislative laws passed that will make abortion more difficult for most women. Several states have already taken steps towards these restrictions. Click here to see which states have already passed restrictions. These restrictions include mandatory waiting periods, counseling sessions and parental consent. Some states even require women to have mandatory ultrasounds. During the first 8 months of this year, 61 abortion laws were enacted. These laws are weakening the view of the women who choose abortion. I have a personal connection to this article. My mother's best friend lost her baby when she was 5 and a half months pregnant. But, her hospital would not let her get an abortion because the law in Massachusetts says that you cannot get an abortion if you are over 21 weeks pregnant. So she was going to have to deliver the baby dead. She fortunately found a hospital that would give her an abortion under the radar. But, many other women might not be so fortunate.

The author of this article, Dorothy Samuels, was very persuasive. She convinced me that these laws were restricting women's rights across the country. Samuels uses words like "big-government attack" and "unconstitutional." This diction leads me to believe that Samuels does not think these restrictions are fair. Samuels also points out that "One powerful strategy of the anti-abortion forces has been to portray abortion as outside the mainstream and cast women who have abortions as immoral outsiders." This is definitely a powerful statement and a negative effect of the restrictions. Samuels knows her audience very well and has supportive evidence to prove her point.

4 comments:

Wow- your mother's friend is very lucky that she found a hospital that would abort her pregnancy. Abortion is a very controversial subject, I agree. I personally believe that it should be the woman's choice whether or not to abort her pregnancy. I don't think that men in higher positions of power should try to restrict the rights of women and their choices. First off, men have no idea what it is like to carry a baby. Second off, who are they protecting by trying to ban abortions, the mother or the baby? I think neither. Women who have an abortion usually do it because they know that they cannot provide for a child. With overpopulation becoming more of a problem around the world, I find it surprising that they would try to ban abortions. Why bring a child into a home where it will not be cared for the right way? Is adoption a truly good option? Abortion poses a lot of questions.

The bad thing about abortions is the fact that you are pretty much killing a baby that may have had a great life. You could debate this by saying that the mother may not have been able to provide for the child yet I think every baby deserves a chance at life and besides, who are we to decide if people should live or die? I don't mean to offend anyone in anyway though as we all have our own personal views.